Abbey reaps largest tranche of €55m arts grant

OVER €55 million is to be handed out in funding for the day-to-day running of arts organisations during 2007, the Arts Council announced yesterday.

Among the top funding beneficiaries is the theatre sector, which netted nearly €20m in grants.

The Abbey Theatre is the arts organisation which is to benefit most, getting €8.5m in this, the main round of arts funding for the year.

Of the 400 or so applications the Arts Council received for funding, 313 were granted. This year’s figure represents an 8% increase on arts funding for 2006. Thirteen organisations are being funded for the first time.

When taken with the €904m in arts funding announced as part of the National Development Plan (NDP) this week, the arts sector is experiencing an unprecedented level of support.

However, unlike the revenue funding just announced — which is for the day-to-day funding of organisations — the €904m is for large capital projects from now until 2013.

However, the timing of the annual arts funding decision is often criticised by people in the arts world. Getting news on funding for 2007 a few weeks into the year makes financial planning difficult, they say.

Multi-annual funding would make such planning easier.

Responding to these criticisms, a spokesperson for the Arts Council said funding decisions are “done as quickly as possible”. The Arts Council only knows its budget in December of each year, the spokesperson said.

Among the grants announced were €1.15m for Wexford Festival Opera, €1m for Dublin’s Gate Theatre, €867,000 for the Irish Film Institute, €700,000 for The Ark children’s cultural centre in Dublin, €610,000 for the Irish Traditional Music Archive, €530,000 for Galway Arts Festival, €810,000 for Druid Theatre Company, €370,000 for Cork’s Triskel Arts Centre and €200,000 for Cork Opera House.

A full list of the grants awarded is available on the Arts Council’s website, www.artscouncil.ie.